While total number of ODs in city went up in 2017, number of deaths decreased dramatically

MANSFIELD - Although the number of drug overdoses in the city was up slightly from 2016 to 2017, Mansfield Police Chief Ken Coontz said drug overdose deaths were drastically down, which is the department's goal.

In 2016, there were 437 overdoses reported with 41 overdose deaths in the city, Coontz said.

In 2017, there were 459 overdoses reported, a 5 percent increase from 2016; and 23 overdose deaths, a reduction of 44 percent from the previous year, according to Mansfield police statistics Coontz shared.

"Helping to try and supplement that is our opiate board that we are running with the community and of course our opiate response teams which are showing up at peoples' houses and handing pamphlets out," Coontz said.

As the city looks to 2018, Coontz said although it is very early in the year, the overdose numbers still aren't that great.

"We actually had in January last year 11 overdoses and no deaths," Coontz said. "When we look at what we have in January 2018, we already have 25 overdoses and three deaths.

Coontz said heroin seizures are slightly declining and fentanyl seizures are on the rise.

"It's not uncommon for addicts to be going out and buying heroin but what they're actually getting is fentanyl," he said. "What we get here when we recover drugs from people they think is heroin, we test it in the lab and it's fentanyl or some derivative of fentanyl.

"Again that fentanyl is so devastating we're back up there again because of this push, this move toward just pure fentanyl and moving away from heroin itself."

Officers provide recovery resource packets to individuals they come into contact with who may have overdosed.

The Recovery Resource Packet explains the opiate response team and provides addiction recovery resources in the area, complete with the agencies' locations and phone numbers.

The Opiate Response Team includes a law enforcement officer, a treatment professional and an addiction advocate. The typical practice of the ORT will be to gather twice a week to gather all overdose data and coordinate a response to those who have overdosed two or more times.

According to the brochure, the ORT will arrive in a marked vehicle and will respect the wishes of the occupants of the residence. If they do not wish to participate in the visit, the ORT will offer to leave information. If they are permitted to enter the home, the team will discuss the benefits of treatment and attempt to assist the addict with securing an attainable appointment, according to the Richland County Recovery Resource Packet.

The Opiate Response Team was launched by the opiate review board in March 2017.

In January, Joe Trolian, executive director of the Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, shared statistics at the Spread the Light event at Graham Chevrolet on the community and law enforcement's commitment to fight the opiate epidemic.

Trolian said since March 15, 2017, the county's opiate response team has made 134 visit to 109 people.